It is already known from German Patent Document DE 3 807 484 C1 to provide contactless parameterization of sanitary fixtures which operate by proximity detection and, indeed, such devices are also on the market. The ability to set or change system parameters of sanitary fittings in a contactless manner has the advantage that certain operating functions or operating modes, for example, test and balancing modes, continuous operation, intermittent operation, thermal disinfection and the like can all be initiated without additional service elements within the valve housing and, in addition, internal control functions, for example, setting of the response range for the proximity detection tracking time, flushing duration, delay periods and the like can be modified without direct intervention with internal or external adjustments of the valve system.
Furthermore, a contactless communication with the valve system can allow remote interrogation of internal operating states, for example, battery charge level. Such sanitary fixtures therefore need not be opened for the setting or resetting of at least certain system parameters so that special tools need not be used nor must the valve assembly be left prone to vandalism.
The system parameters and mode of operation can be changed from one sanitary fixture to another with a high degree of user selectivity. For example, in/out and on/off functions for different sanitary fixtures, timer functions, proximity response ranges and the like may be set for the various infrared detectors of different fixtures independently from one another and without opening of the units or other direct access thereto.
The system hitherto employed for the contactless parameterization of sanitary fixtures, i.e. the setting of the system and operating parameters or function selection in a contactless manner resulted in a storage of the modified parameters during normal operation. However, upon a failure of the voltage source or upon removal of an internal energy source like a battery, the settings were lost. As a consequence, it was always necessary when the sanitary fixture was placed again in operation, i.e. a new battery installed, for the basic parameters to be reset or a standardized operation mode set for the particular unit. The need to reset the sanitary fixture upon a power failure or upon replacement of the voltage source was a significant problem, especially where a number of sanitary fixtures had to be reset by operating or maintenance personnel.